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July 12, 2021 Dear Chairman Sanders and Senator Graham

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July 12, 2021 Dear Chairman Sanders and Senator Graham July 12, 2021 Honorable Bernie Sanders Chairman Committee on the Budget United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Honorable Lindsey Graham Ranking Member Committee on the Budget United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Chairman Sanders and Senator Graham: As negotiations continue between Congress and the White House on legislation to address the Nation’s infrastructure needs, we write to inform you of the most crucial infrastructure needs of the Judicial Branch. Our request totals $1.54 billion and covers direct funding for the Judicial Branch as well as funding for two of our Executive Branch partners, the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Federal Protective Service (FPS), on whom we depend to ensure that sufficient space and security infrastructure is in place for conducting court operations. The Judicial Branch’s requirements for Courthouse and Judicial Security Infrastructure, Courthouse Construction Infrastructure, and Cybersecurity and IT Modernization Infrastructure are detailed below, and summarized in Enclosure 1.1 Funding of the Judicial Branch’s most pressing infrastructure needs is essential to the day-to-day operations of the Nation’s federal courts. In the event the budget reconciliation process is utilized to pass an infrastructure bill, we ask that reconciliation instructions for the appropriate authorizing committees be included in the budget resolution to ensure that the Judicial Branch’s infrastructure needs 1This letter provides updated Judiciary infrastructure requirements and supersedes the letters transmitted to Congress on April 12, 2021. Honorable Bernie Sanders Honorable Lindsey Graham Page 2 can be addressed. Once reconciliation instructions have been adopted in a budget resolution, we will work with each committee on specific legislative language as appropriate. Courthouse and Judicial Security Infrastructure ($389.5 million) There is an urgent need for immediate Congressional action to address the security of judges and federal courthouses. Over the past year, the federal Judiciary has suffered an increasing number of acts of violence and vandalism on and off courthouse premises. In July 2020, a disgruntled litigant, posing as a delivery courier, went to the New Jersey home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas and murdered her son and critically wounded her husband. An FPS guard was shot to death in May 2020 outside the federal courthouse in Oakland, California. A court security officer was shot and wounded in September 2020 outside the federal courthouse in Phoenix, Arizona. And more than 50 federal courthouses sustained damage during public disturbances and violent incidents occurring at or near federal courthouses in 2020. The threat to federal courts is getting worse. According to the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) the number of threats and inappropriate communications targeting judges and other personnel essential to court proceedings rose from 926 in 2015, to 4,261 in 2020, a 360 percent increase. Our constitutional system depends on judges who can make decisions without fear of reprisal or retribution. This is essential not just for the safety of judges and their families, but also to protect our democracy. A comprehensive approach is required to effectively address the growing violence and threats facing the Judiciary. This includes both authorizing legislation and increased appropriations for the Judiciary, USMS, and FPS. We ask Congress to provide the needed funding, a substantial portion of which is for the construction or acquisition of security-related infrastructure. We are seeking $112.5 million for the Judiciary’s Court Security program to harden courthouses to withstand a hostile incursion, and $10.0 million for a new security vulnerability program to proactively manage security vulnerabilities at the national, circuit, and district level and to address increasing threats against federal judges, their families, and federal court facilities. In addition, we request $267.0 million as a direct appropriation to FPS to upgrade aging perimeter security cameras at federal courthouses and other court facilities. Honorable Bernie Sanders Honorable Lindsey Graham Page 3 H.R. 3237, the “Emergency Security Supplemental to Respond to January 6th Appropriations Act, 2021,” passed the House of Representatives on May 20, 2021, includes the $112.5 million requested to harden courthouses, $10.0 million for a security vulnerability program to improve judges’ safety, and $35.0 million for the Judiciary to reimburse FPS for security camera upgrades (instead of a direct appropriation to FPS). The timing of Senate consideration and action on H.R. 3237 remains uncertain. Accordingly, we request that any infrastructure bill include funding for these critical security infrastructure needs. Courthouse Construction Infrastructure ($634.3 million) We anticipate an infrastructure bill will include funding for GSA’s Federal Buildings Fund to address, to some extent, government-wide new construction needs and the backlog of repairs and alterations projects. We ask that infrastructure funding provided to GSA be sufficient to address the Judiciary’s courthouse construction and Capital Security Program requests totaling $634.3 million, as outlined below. The Judicial Conference of the United States has transmitted to Congress a request for three new courthouse projects as reflected on the September 2020 Federal Judiciary Courthouse Project Priorities (CPP) plan: (1) San Juan, Puerto Rico; (2) Hartford, Connecticut; and (3) Chattanooga, Tennessee. The San Juan, Puerto Rico project is deemed a judicial space emergency by the Judicial Conference and designated our top space priority due to the significant seismic deficiencies in the courthouse complex in addition to pre-existing building, space, and security deficiencies. The Judiciary requests $262.2 million for GSA for the Puerto Rico courthouse project. The Judiciary also requests $294.1 million to provide the remaining funding needed for new courthouse projects in Hartford, Connecticut, and Chattanooga, Tennessee (partial funding was provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021). This funding will ensure these two projects proceed in an efficient and expeditious manner. The CPP also identifies outyear courthouse construction priorities in Bowling Green, Kentucky; Anchorage, Alaska; Greensboro/Winston Salem, North Carolina; McAllen Texas; and Norfolk, Virginia. Enclosure 2 provides a copy of the CPP for your review. The Judicial Branch also seeks $78.0 million for GSA’s Capital Security Program (CSP), which is a component of GSA’s Repairs and Alterations program. The CSP exists to addresses security deficiencies in existing courthouse buildings where physical renovations are viable in lieu of constructing a new courthouse. Substantial improvements include the construction of sally ports (secured vehicle parking at Honorable Bernie Sanders Honorable Lindsey Graham Page 4 courthouses used by the U.S. Marshals Service for prisoner transport) or the addition of elevators to improve circulation patterns for the public, judges, and prisoners. These improvements can be achieved with relatively modest alterations at lower cost and on a quicker timetable than new construction. This program has not received a congressional appropriation since FY 2018, resulting in a significant backlog of approved projects. At a time when threats against judges are increasing and violent incidents on and off federal courthouse premises have become more common, the basic security improvements made possible by the CSP are more important now than ever. We request additional funding for GSA totaling $78.0 million for CSP projects in Augusta, Georgia ($18.7 million); Fort Wayne, Indiana ($17.2 million); Burlington, Vermont ($21.7 million); and Hattiesburg, Mississippi ($20.4 million). The Judiciary supports additional funding for GSA’s Basic and Major Repairs and Alterations (R&A) program, a component piece of the Federal Buildings Fund, to ensure safe, secure, and functional space for judges and Judiciary employees. Every year, the Judiciary pays over $1 billion in rent to GSA, a significant portion of which is intended to cover the costs of maintaining and upgrading existing facilities. Because of funding constraints, GSA has received just over half ($6.4 billion) of the $12.1 billion it has requested for its R&A program since FY 2011. This has led to deteriorating building systems, broken elevators, and significant mold and water intrusion problems in numerous courthouses across the country. Accordingly, we ask that Congress consider funding for GSA’s Basic and Major R&A program in an infrastructure bill so GSA can begin to address the backlog of needed repairs to courthouses and court facilities. Cybersecurity and IT Modernization Infrastructure ($515.0 million) The combination of sharp increases in the number of cyberattacks on Judiciary IT systems, aging legacy applications critical to court operations, and funding shortfalls has created IT vulnerabilities that require an infusion of resources to address. Without additional resources, these IT vulnerabilities will impact our ability to provide core IT services and cyber protections for the courts, or to undertake much needed modernization projects. The constraints of the annual appropriations process simply do not allow for investments of the magnitude needed for a comprehensive retooling of our IT systems, applications, and accompanying infrastructure. Accordingly, we look to the Congress to provide $515.0
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